Personality Disorders

Question 1

What is the single most contributer to personality?

Answer 1

Temperament

Question 2

What is the difference between Ego-Syntonic and Ego-Dystonic?

Answer 2

Ego-Syntonic – The activity or thought is acceptable to the the person, but not to people around them.
Ego-Dystonic – An Activity that is uncomfortable for the person themselves and knows it is odd, but they have to do it.

Question 3

If a patient states he does not have any need or want to make meaningful relationships with anyone he is perfectly content himself. Additionally, he does not feel any emotions towards others or himself. What type of disorder?

Answer 3

Schizoid Personality Disorder

• Emotionally detached
• Loners
• Do not want relationships
• Mostly Males

Question 4

If you are speaking with a patient who reports she works as a fortune teller and telepath for the local authorities and wholeheartedly believes she has these powers, despite frequent inaccuracies. What is this kind of thinking associated with?

Answer 4

Schizotypal Personality Disorder

- Highly Genetic, increased risk if relatives of schizophrenics

Question 5

If a patient you are speaking with states that he likes to do everything himself because his co-workers are incompetent and always believes his girl friend is cheating on him, even without basis. What might be the underlying disorder?

Answer 5

Paranoid Personality Disorder

• Longstanding Suspiciousness and Mistrust of People
• Mostly Males

Question 6

How are Paranoid Personality and Schizoid Personality Disorders different from Schizophrenia?

Answer 6

They do not have any (additional) psychotic behaviors

Question 7

What are the conditions most associated with Cluster A disorders?

Answer 7

• Schizoid
• Schizotypal
• Paranoid
• *Detached, Eccentric**

Question 8

What are the commonalities of Cluster B Disorders?

Answer 8

More Dramatic and Impulsive

• Antisocial
• Borderline
• Histrionic
• Narcissistic

Question 9

If one you are going out of town and the day before you leave one of your patient sends multiple emails and phone calls about various things they are concerned about while you will be gone. The patient told you that you were their favorite doctor, then a few days later they said you were the worst for going on vacation. What might be going on with this patient?

Answer 9

Borderline Personality Disorder

• Frantic efforts to avoid real/imaged abandonment
• Pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships fluctuating between extremes of idealization/devaluation
• Impulse control difficulties
• Instability of mood and very reactive

Question 10

What is the risk associated with borderline personality disorder?

Answer 10

• Higher Risk of Suicide

- Higher Risk of Substance Abuse

Question 11

If a person is known to act in complete disregard for themselves and others and seem to purposefully act in a way to deceive others. What might be the underlying reason?

Answer 11

Antisocial Personality Disorder
- Deceitful / Impulsive
- Reckless Disregard for others
- Lack of Remorse
Aka -- Sociopathic (higher risk in relatives with)

Question 12

If in high school a person who you knew constant was checking her appearance and excessively worked to maintain their exact look, but even after graduating continues to do it and has more than one plastic surgery.

Answer 12

Histrionic Personality Disorder

• Overconcern with appearance/attentino
• exaggerated emotional response
• Females mostly

Question 13

A person you know constantly talks about getting into the best school since he is the smartest and will go onto become the president of a multimillion dollar company. However in school he would cheat, lie, and steal in order to gain high grades and best student organization positions.

Answer 13

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

• High self-importance, grandiose, low empathy for others
• Require excessive admiration from others
• Arrogant and entitled

Question 14

What is the overarching qualities of Cluster C disorders?

Answer 14

More Anxious individuals

Question 15

A medical student who studies hours upon hours to master material, but often is unable to get through all the material before the exam. He will not sleep for days and skip meals in order to accomplish his tasks.

Answer 15

Obsessive Complusive Personality Disorder

• Perfectionism that interferes with task completion
• Inflexible values and overly conscientious of correctness of tasks

Question 16

What is the most common type of symptoms does obsessive complusive personality disorder have?

Answer 16

Dystonic – uncomfortable for them and they know it

Question 17

What is is the kind of personality disorder that a person withdraws from society due to extreme fear of rejection, but still long to have relationships. Typically more shy and reserved people.

Answer 17

Avoidant Personality Disorder

Question 18

What kind of personality disorder is consistent with an individual always putting others needs second to their own, have immense difficulty making decisions without advice and are uncomfortable being alone, will seek new relationships as soon as one is over.

Answer 18

Dependent Personality Disorder

Question 19

What should be the goal of treatment of people with personality disorders?

Answer 19

– Psychotherapy to change their defenses to become more flexible and promote more supportive environment

Question 20

What is considered cognitive disorders / organic brain syndrome?

Answer 20

Abnormalities of function, chemistry, physiology due to disorder originating in the brain or secondary to another systemic illness

• Delirium
• Dementia
• Amnestic Disorders

Question 21

A 78 year old female begins to have difficulties with memory and wanders away from home at night sometimes without knowing. After questioning it is found our her dog had died 10 months before she had had for 15 years. What is most likely going on?

Answer 21

Dissociative Fugue
- After stressful event, begins wandering away from home without knowing

if was just forgetful without wandering, depression can present as cognitive dysfunction in older people, wihch would be treated with antidepressants.

Question 22

What is the most common defense mechanism for patients with borderline personality disorder?

Answer 22

Splitting

Question 23

What are typical characteristics of anorexia?

Answer 23

• Increased intrest in preparing food
• Poor Self Image
• No change in appetite
• High Performance in school
• Absent Menses
• Conflict with Mother
• Risk for Osteoporosis / Pancytopenia

Question 24

A patient tells his physician to refer him to another physician who attended a top ranked program and he knows the doctor will not mind since he is the best patient.

Answer 24

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Question 25

What type of antidepressant should be avoided in giving to Bulimic patients for treatment and why?

Answer 25

Bupropion – can lower seizure threshold in which they are already higher risk for.
Do an SSRI instead.

Question 26

A 28 year old women brings gifts for everyone in the doctors office everytime she visits and becomes very emotionally loud if she hears one of them are leaving. When she speaks with the doctor she exaggerates her symptoms to get more of a response from the doctor.

Answer 26

Histrionic Personality Disorder

Question 27

What constitutes passive-aggressive personality disorder?

Answer 27

Outwardly Compliant – will say they will do something

Inwardly Defiant – will not follow through when not in the situation, since they didn’t want to do it anyways

Question 28

A 20 year old female college student who was unable to answer a teachers question drops out of class the next day.

Answer 28

Avoidant Personality Disorder